Educational Performance Contracting: An Evaluation of an Experiment

1. Introduction
2. Rationale and Structure
-- Initial Rationale
-- The Goals
-- The Design
-- Selection of Firms, School Districts, and Students 
-- Problems with the Selection Procedures
3. The Experiment in Action
-- The Companies' Programs
-- Launching the Experiment
-- Obtaining the Consent of Parents
-- Miscellaneous Problems
4. The Results
-- Interpreting Test Results
-- Overall Results
-- Results for Individual Sites
-- Other Indications of Success
5. Monetary Incentives in Education
-- The Contracts 
-- Specific Incentive Provisions 
-- Contract Problems in Education
6. Performance Contracting and the Strategy of Experimentation
-- Major Shortcomings
-- Effect of the Experiment on Educational Policies
-- Lessons for the Future 

Tables:

- 2-1. Performance Contracting Firms, by Educational Approach, Teacher-Student Ratios, and Use of Paraprofessionals, 1970-71 School Year
- 2-2. Individual Site Characteristics in the Educational Performance Contracting Experiment, by Contractor, 1970-71 School Year
- 4-1. Attrition and Test Data for Experimental and Control Groups, by Grade, 1970-71 School Year
- 4-2. Differences in Gain between Experimental and Control Groups, by Grade and Test Subcomponent, 1970-71 School Year
- 4-3. Differences in Gain between Experimental and Control Groups, by Grade and Subject, 1970-71 School Year
- 4-4. Pretest and Post-Test Scores of Students in the Experimental Group, and Gains, by Grade and Subject, 1970-71 School Year
- 4-5. Grade Equivalent Gains of Experimental over Control Groups, by Site, Contractor, Grade, and Subject, 1970-71 School Year
- 4-6. Regressions Explaining the Differences in Individual Site Results, by Grade, Contractor, Region, and Other Characteristics, 1970-71 School Year
- 4-7. Attendances and Absences, Experimental and Control Groups, by Grade, 1970-71 School Year
- 5-1. Ratio of the Variance of Gains of the Experimental Group to Those of the Control Group in the Educational Performance Contracting Experiment, by Subject and Grade, 1970-71 School Year
- Figure 2-1. Typical Educational Performance Incentive Contract, 1970-71 Experiment